Where cats and anime matter

Sunday News Bites: January 27th

Hello and welcome to another edition of Sunday News Bites! This week we are joined in the newsroom by Phantom Thief Dark, who decided to make a grand entrance by flying in the window instead of using the door like everyone else.

D.N.Angel finally continuing
After over two years of hiatus, D.N.Angel is finally set to return in the next issue of Asuka magazine. The original run of the manga started in 1997, but after eleven volumes were released, it went on hiatus in 2005 whilst the mangaka concentrated on her other series Lagoon Engine and Lagoon Engine Einsatz. Finally, however, fans of the series can prepare to see what happens next.Dark says: Yes- this is my time to shine once again!

Cats prepare to take over anime
Cats have already taken a firm grip on the world of anime and manga, but they are about to move to the next level with the upcoming anime adaptation of Chi’s Sweet Home, a manga about the life of kitten Chi. The anime, which promises to be saturated with cuteness not seen since the days of Hello Kitty, is set to premier this spring, whilst a 1/1 scale plushie of Chi can be seen here.Dark says: If you want that plushie, I’ll steal it for you.

High-tech crime force takes action
Thanks to the effort of Kyoto’s “High-tech crime force”, three Japanese men have been arrested for uploading anime to Winny. Whilst the first two stand accused of uploading episodes of Xenoglossia and Gundam 00, the third man has confessed to creating a virus which was uploaded with still images from Clannad.Dark says: Hah, I wouldn’t be foolish enough to get caught- but then I’m more into the artefact-stealing scene.

Manga Taisho
Twelve titles have been nominated for the first ever Manga Taisho awards- Umimachi Diary, Ohoku, Gaku, Kino Nani Tabeta, Kimi ni Todoke, Imperial Guards, Tomehane! Suzuri Kōkō Shodōbu, Natsume Yūjin-Chō, Himawari (not to be confused with the anime series of the same name), Flower of Life, Moyashimon and Yotsuba&. Of these titles, only three can walk away with an award in a ceremony to be held at the end of March- stay tuned for details on the results.Dark says: Unfortunately my manga was too long to be eligible and didn’t have any volumes published last year, or we would have surely scooped the awards.

He’s a Bug Master…
The Mushishi live-action film (also known as Bug Master in some countries) is finally set to come to the UK on DVD. Set for release on March 3rd, the DVD will retail at £15.99Dark says: Bug Master? That’s almost as stupid a name as Krad.

Viz announcements
Release dates for various new manga from Viz have started appearing on retailers’ websites, with Honey and Clover, Black Lagoon, Harukanaru Toki no Naka De, Rosario+Vampire the Death note novel being just some of the titles set to appear (a more complete list can be found here).

Meanwhile, on the anime front, it appears that the company have the DVD rights for both the Monster and Hunter X Hunter anime series, both of which will be presented alongside other Viz titles for TV broadcasters to potentially pick up and air.Dark says: Who needs those other series when you have me?

Black Blood Brothers can be yours
FUNimation are offering the entirety of Black Blood Brothers for digital download on their website at a cost of $1.99 per episode; each episode contains the original Japanese audio with English subtitles, and can only be downloaded by those with an American IP address. This marks only the second time a complete anime series has been legally available to download prior to its DVD release (the first, of course, being Death Note).Dark says: Those vampires shall never be as good-looking as me!